[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 129 (Friday, July 5, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 32214-32216]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-14333]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement

[S1D1S SS08011000 SX064A000 190S180110; S2D2S SS08011000 SX064A00 
19XS501520]


Notice of Record of Decision for the Coal Hollow Mine Mining Plan

AGENCY: Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of record of decision.

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SUMMARY: The Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement 
(OSMRE) announces its decision to adopt the Bureau of Land Management's 
(BLM) Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) for the Alton Coal 
Tract Lease by Application at the Coal Hollow Mine located in Kane 
County, UT. In accordance with Section 102 of the National 
Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA), the Council on Environmental 
Quality's (CEQ) regulations implementing NEPA, and other applicable 
authorities, OSMRE has conducted an independent review and evaluation 
of the BLM's FEIS for the Alton Coal Tract Lease by Application at the 
Coal Hollow Mine dated July 2018.
    As a cooperating agency with responsibility for the Federal Lands 
Program and the preparation of mining plan decision documents for 
review by the Assistant Secretary for Land and

[[Page 32215]]

Minerals Management (ASLM), OSMRE provided subject matter expertise to 
the BLM during the environmental review process. Based on its 
independent review and evaluation, OSMRE has determined the FEIS, 
including all supporting documentation, as incorporated by reference, 
adequately assesses and discloses the environmental impacts for the 
mining plan, and that adoption of the 2018 FEIS by OSMRE is authorized. 
Accordingly, OSMRE adopts the 2018 FEIS, and takes full responsibility 
for the scope and content that addresses the proposed mining plan at 
Coal Hollow Mine.

ADDRESSES: Documents are available on OSMRE's website: https://www.wrcc.osmre.gov/initiatives/coalHollowMine.shtm.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Gretchen Pinkham, OSMRE Project 
Manager, at 303-293-5088 or by email at [email protected]. Persons 
who use a telecommunications device for the deaf may call the Federal 
Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1-800-877-8339 to contact the above 
individual during normal business hours. The FIRS is available 24 hours 
a day, 7 days a week, to leave a message or question with the above 
individual. You will receive a reply during normal business hours.


SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background on the Project
II. Alternatives
III. Environmental Impact Analysis
IV. Decision

I. Background on the Project

    As established by the Mineral Leasing Act (MLA) of 1920, the 
Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act (SMCRA) of 1977, as amended 
(30 U.S.C. 1201-1328), and the Cooperative Agreement between the State 
of Utah and the Secretary of the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) 
in accordance with Section 523(c) of SMCRA (30 U.S.C. 1273(c)), Alton 
Coal Development, LLC Permit Application Package (PAP) (also referred 
to as LBA Block 1) must be reviewed by OSMRE and a mining plan approved 
by the ASLM before Alton Coal Development, LLC may significantly 
disturb the environment in order to develop the Federal Coal Lease UTU-
081895. The Utah Division of Oil, Gas and Mining (DOGM) is the SMCRA 
regulatory authority principally responsible for reviewing and 
approving PAPs. Under the MLA, OSMRE is responsible for making a 
recommendation to the ASLM about whether the proposed mining plan 
modification should be approved, disapproved, or approved with 
conditions (30 CFR 746). OSMRE has reviewed the FEIS in its entirety 
for adoption and determined the analysis to be sufficient. Any future 
mining plan decisions within the Alternative K1 lease area would be 
subject to re-evaluation under NEPA.
    It is OSMRE's decision to adopt the BLM Kanab Field Office ``Alton 
Coal Tract Lease by Application'' FEIS (2018), as allowed under 40 CFR 
1506.3. Consistent with the BLM decision, OSMRE is selecting 
Alternative K1, as described in the FEIS (Section 2.5), based on the 
agencies' consideration of: The purpose and need for the action; the 
issues; current policies and regulations; the analysis of alternatives 
contained in the FEIS; public comments received and other information 
in the project record.
    Alternative K1 as analyzed in the FEIS would add 2,114 acres of 
which approximately 1,227 acres are federal surface and mineral estate 
and 887 acres are split estate (private surface and federal mineral 
estate) for surface and underground mining activities. Under 
Alternative K1, the lease to be mined contains approximately 40.9 
million tons of coal and an estimated 30.8 million tons of coal will be 
recoverable. The lease would produce approximately 2 million tons per 
year and mining operations would be extended by approximately 16 years.
    The BLM and OSMRE, in consultation with the Utah State Historic 
Preservation Office, developed a programmatic agreement (Appendix N of 
the FEIS) pursuant to 36 CFR 800.14 that would provide for a 
comprehensive consideration of possible effects to historic properties 
in compliance with Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation 
Act (NHPA) of 1966, as amended (54 U.S.C. 300101-307108). Consultations 
with Native American Tribes are being conducted in accordance with DOI 
policy.
    As part of its consideration of impacts of the proposed Project on 
threatened and endangered species, OSMRE completed the Section 7 
consultation process under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) of 1973, 
utilizing the BLM's previous consultation completed on October 6, 2017 
and came to a finding of no effect for the Ute ladies'-tresses, 
pursuant to Section 7 of ESA, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) and 
its implementing regulations.
    In addition to compliance with NEPA, NHPA Section 106, and ESA 
Section 7, all Federal actions will be in compliance with applicable 
requirements of the SMCRA, the Clean Water Act (33 U.S.C. 1251-1387), 
the Clean Air Act of 1970, as amended (42 U.S.C. 7401-7671q), the 
Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act of 1990, as 
amended, (25 U.S.C. 3001-3013), and all applicable laws, regulations, 
and Executive Orders relating to Environmental Justice (E.O. 12898), 
Sacred Sites (E.O. 13007), and Tribal Consultation (E.O. 13175).

II. Alternatives

    The analysis in the FEIS considers direct, indirect, and cumulative 
impacts of the Proposed Action and three Alternatives. Alternatives for 
the Project that were analyzed in the FEIS include:
    (a) Alternative A--No Action Alternative: This Alternative was 
identified by OSMRE as the environmentally preferable Alternative. Even 
though this is the No Action Alternative, currently permitted mining on 
private lands adjacent to the lease would continue to mine 
approximately 5 million short tons of recoverable coal from 
approximately 635 acres.
    (b) Alternative B--Proposed Action: Under the Proposed Action, the 
lease would encompass approximately 3,576 acres of which approximately 
2,280 acres are federal surface and mineral estate and 1,296 acres are 
split estate; private surface estate and federal mineral estate. The 
Proposed Action would include approximately 44.9 million tons of 
recoverable coal to be mined over 25 years at a rate of approximately 2 
million tons per year.
    (c) Alternative C--Reduced Tract Acreage and Seasonal Restrictions: 
Under Alternative C, the lease would be modified to exclude Block NW 
and certain mining activities in the south portion of the lease (Block 
S) would be subject to seasonal restrictions to reduce impacts to the 
local Greater Sage-Grouse population. The modified lease would 
encompass approximately 3,173 acres of which approximately 2,280 acres 
are federal surface and mineral estate and 893 acres are split estate. 
The modified lease area would contain 39.2 million tons of recoverable 
coal to be mined over 21 years at a rate of 2 million tons per year.
    (d) Alternative K1--Preferred Alternative: Under Alternative K1, 
the lease would be modified to exclude Block NW and Block S. The lease 
would add 2,114 acres of which approximately 1,227 acres are federal 
surface and mineral estate and 887 acres are split estate (private 
surface and federal mineral estate) for surface and underground mining 
activities. Approximately 30.8 million tons of coal will be recoverable 
to be mined over 16 years at a rate of 2 million tons per year.
    A wide range of additional Alternatives were considered by OSMRE 
but not carried forward for

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detailed analysis in the FEIS. The following Alternatives were not 
analyzed in the FEIS (Section 2.7) because they either did not meet the 
purpose and need of the Project or were not considered technically 
feasible or economically feasible or cost-effective:
 Alternative D: Alton Coal Development's Original Lease By 
Application Submittal
 Alternative E: No Surface Mining
 Alternative F: Postpone Leasing Decision Until Completion Of 
The Kanab Field Office Resource Management Plan Revision
 Alternative G: Postpone Leasing Decision Until More 
Environmentally Friendly Coal Mining Practices Are Available
 Alternative H: Construct A Coal-Fired Power Plant Next To The 
Tract
 Alternative I: Promote The Development Of Alternative Sources 
Of Energy, Natural Gas, And Energy Conservation
 Alternative J: Coal Transportation Alternatives
 Alternative K2: Tract Modifications To Address Concerns 
Related To Greater Sage-Grouse And Big Game
 Alternative L: Tract Modifications To Address Concerns Related 
To Kanab Creek, Possible Alluvial Valley Floors, And Other Water 
Features
 Alternative M: Maximize Flexibility Of Mining Operations
 Alternative N: Nitrogen Dioxide Emissions Control Measures
 Alternative O: Restrict Mining Operations To Daylight Hours
 Alternative P: Update The KFO RMP Unsuitability Determinations 
Based On The Analysis In The DEIS And Reconfigure The Tract To Exclude 
These Areas
 Alternative Q: Air Quality Protection Alternative
 Alternative R: Restrict Coal Truck Traffic After Sunset And 
Before Sunrise
 Alternative S: Reconfigure The Tract To Exclude Cultural 
Resources Sites Eligible For The National Register Of Historic Places
 Alternative T: Seasonal Timing Restrictions And Varying 
Buffer-Size Restrictions For The Tract
 Alternative U: Alternative Locations
 Alternative V: Lease All Known Recoverable Coal Resources

    Certain components of the federal action would be independent of 
the elements of any alternative. In the FEIS, these were considered 
options, any one of which could be chosen in combination with any 
alternative and would not necessitate changes in the alternative, or 
vice versa. Those options that were considered but not carried forward 
for detailed analysis are listed below (FEIS Section 2.7).

 Kanab Field Office Route 116 Relocation Options
 Other Roads In The Tract
 Power Generation Options

III. Environmental Impact Analysis

    The FEIS analyzes the potential environmental impacts to 16 
different resource categories, including:

 Air Resources
 Paleontology
 Geology and Minerals
 Cultural Resources
 Soils
 Vegetation
 Wildlife: Special Status Species
 Wildlife: General
 Hazardous Materials and Hazardous and Solid Waste
 Water Resources
 Livestock Grazing
 Transportation
 Land Use and Access
 Recreation
 Socioeconomics
 Aesthetics Resources

IV. Decision

    In consideration of the information presented above, OSMRE approves 
the Record of Decision (ROD) adopting the BLM Alton Coal Tract Lease by 
Application FEIS and selects Alternative K1 as the Preferred 
Alternative as described in the FEIS (Section 2.5). The BLM included 
lease stipulations which were outlined in Appendix B of BLM's ROD to 
minimize environmental impacts. This action can be implemented 
following approval of the mining plan modification by the ASLM.

    Authority:  40 CFR 1506.6, 40 CFR 1506.1.

    Dated: June 25, 2019.
David Berry,
Regional Director, Regions 5, 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11.
[FR Doc. 2019-14333 Filed 7-3-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4310-05-P